South Whidbey Fire/EMS photo — Two firefighters, Shane Cummings and Lt. Anne Collins, work to extinguish the last flames in a house fire early Monday morning. The home, located in Useless Bay Colony, was a total loss.

Fire claims another Useless Bay Colony home

A Useless Bay Colony home was destroyed in an early morning fire this week.

No one was hurt in the blaze and officials are uncertain how it began. Arson, however, is not suspected.

“There were no indicators of foul play or anything,” said Jon Beck, deputy chief of South Whidbey Fire/EMS.

The fire district was dispatched to a report of a home ablaze on South Hillis Drive at 3:49 a.m. on Monday. Crews arrived to find the single story structure fully engulfed in flames.

Beck said the fire was so large it could be seen from miles away.

It’s unclear who called 911; some said it woke up neighbors and they called the district, but a newspaper driver was also reportedly on scene and was claimed to have banged on doors with the help of another good Samaritan who was on his way to work. The delivery driver did not work for The Record.

Whatever the case, a total of seven engines, including one from Central Whidbey and Rescue, worked for over an hour to knock down all the flames. A total of 18 South Whidbey personnel were involved.

Despite their efforts, the house was a total loss and another home nearby sustained an estimated $5,000 in damages.

According to Beck, no one was home at the time. The owner recently moved out and the family was preparing to hold an estate sale this weekend. They’d been working hard to fix the place up and sell it.

“They’ve invested a lot of time and money into it and pretty much lost everything,” he said.

This was the third Useless Bay Colony home destroyed by fire this summer. Two homes burned in early July, though both were allegedly the result of arson.

South Whidbey resident Blake Fountain is suspected of the crime and was charged with arson in the first degree. He is currently being held in Island County jail.